The responses of Abdullah ibn Abbas to the two men who asked whether Allah would forgive murder

Question

I have heard more than once (for example here) the following:

A man came to Abdullah ibn Abbas and asked: If I had killed someone, would Allah ever forgive me? And ibn Abbas said, yes, He would. Same day, when ibn Abbas at the same gathering, another man came ans asked the same question, and this time ibn Abbas said, no. Later, people asked ibn Abbas how come he gave two opposite answers to the same question. He said, he sensed that the first man had already killed someone and was seeking a way to repent; the second on the other hand, had not yet killed, and looking for an excuse to have his license to kill!

What is the source for this narration?

Answer 1

عن سعد بن عبيدة، قال: جاء رجل إلى ابن عباس فقال: لمن قتل مؤمنا توبة؟، قال: لا إلا النار، فلما ذهب قال له جلساؤه: ما هكذا كنت تفتينا، كنت تفتينا أن لمن قتل مؤمنا توبة مقبولة، فما بال اليوم؟ قال: إني أحسبه رجل مغضب يريد أن يقتل مؤمنا قال: فبعثوا في أثره فوجدوه كذلك

^{[ Note: My personal translation so be cautious that it is paraphrased and may contain mistakes]}

Sa'd bin 'Ubaidah narrated:

A man came to Ibn Abbas and asked: "Who kills a believer, is there repentance for him?"

Ibn Abbas said: "No, but the Fire".

When he went away the students sitting around him (Ibn Abbas) said: "Did you used to give us this fatwa? Rather you used to give us the fatwa that one who kills a believer his repentance is accepted. So what happened today?"

He said: "I thought that he was angry and intended to kill some believer."

They went after the questioner and found him like that.

^{— Musannaf ibn Abi Shaybah}